1. Field of the Invention
The present invention pertains to a livestock feed product comprising the residue from cotton ginning processes wherein the residue, primarily cotton burr, is compacted and bound into an edible block using a settable liquid binder. The compaction apparatus is adapted to progressively build a large feed block by spraying liquid binder on and compacting multiple layers of the residue or burr.
2. Background
In spite of the inroads made by synthetic fibers, the production of cotton for the textile industry and other applications provides millions of pounds of processed fibers annually. The separtion of the cotton fiber from the cottom boll produces substantial quantities of residue material comprising various portions of the cotton plant such as small portions of the plant stem or stalk, leaves, and primarily the hull or husk of the cotton boll, commonly known as burr. This material is, of course, separated from the cotton fibers in the ginning process. The residue material is produced in relatively large quantities by the ginning process and, unlike the cottonseed, has not previously been considered to have commercial value.
There have been several problems associated with the disposition of cotton gin residue or burr which, heretofore, has resulted in added expense to the gin operator. For example, the sheer quantity of burr produced by a conventional cotton gin contributes to its disposal costs. Moreover, even though this residue has some nutritional value as a feed material, the expense previously associated with handling the material has not been justified when attempting to convert the material to livestock feed. However, the cost associated with the production of other types of livestock feed in recent years and the developments associated with the present invention have produced a livestock feed product which is unique and which is economically manufactured using a novel apparatus and method as will be appreciated by those skilled in the art.